From 1977 to 1981, linebacker John Epitropoulos was a fearsome linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Thirty years later, his son is a junior wide receiver hoping to follow in his father's footsteps.

Frank Epitropoulos, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver at Upper Arlington High School, already holds one verbal scholarship offer and has heard from several other Division I college programs, including his father's alma mater.

"I've heard from a lot of the Big 10 schools, but as of now my only offer is Toledo," Epitropoulos said. "I just talked to the Cincinnati recruiter Friday at my school and I've gotten a few letters from Ohio State."

Epitropoulos said Cincinnati assistant coach Mark Elder visited Upper Arlington and informed him the Bearcats are excited about his potential in college. Cincinnati has shown interest since the spring of his sophomore season.

Last summer he attended camps at Alabama, Cincinnati, Michigan State and Ohio State. He attended games this fall at Northwestern, Cincinnati and Kentucky.

"My favorite would probably be OSU because my dad played there," he said. "He knows a lot of the staff and goes back and watches practice sometimes."

Epitropoulos, a two-year starter at Upper Arlington, said he's learned a lot from his father.

"He has always given me good advice and football has been in the family so I learned to love it at an early age," he said.

He plans to attend several more camps this summer to improve his skills and further prepare him to play in college.

As a junior he caught 29 passes for 490 yards and five touchdowns for the 6-4 Golden Bears.

"I felt like I played pretty well," he said. "I made the all-league team, so that's an accomplishment and also I made second team all-state as a punter."